Day 200.. Happy Birthday to Jesus Cake

Christmas has been bumped up at our house because of a trip to Colorado on Christmas Day. Today we celebrated Christmas Eve. Our tradition for Christmas Eve has always been to have a nice dinner, followed by celebrating Jesus's Birth. We make a Birthday cake, read the Christmas Story from Luke, and then do a magnetic advent type calendar. We stuck to tradition even though it was a day early. Merry Christmas from our house to yours!!

The Greeneteam ready to decorate Jesus's Birthday Cake.

We make a round cake (Chocolate to symbolize our sins), cover it with white frosting (Jesus's purity covers our sins).

Top it with a yellow star and Angel (bearer of the first glad tidings). We then place 12 candles (Christ our light throughout the year).

We then encircle the cake with evergreens (symbol of everlasting life).

I love this cake idea. It came from a book called The Twelve Blessings of Christmas by T.J. Mills.

We read the Christmas Story from Luke and then do a magnet display showing Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus, the Angels, Wisemen and shepherds. The kids love this activity.

Maddie loves the little baby Jesus. Merry Christmas!!

Day 199.. GAME Fun at the building !!

One of the Greeneteams best friends invited them out today for an afternoon of fun. The kids LOVED it. Ping Pong, Darts, Bowling, Air Hockey, Carrom, Basketball, and more were all in store for fun at Pop Pops building of games. Thank you Grayson and Andrea for letting us visit and play today. So much Fun!!

Lunch with friends!!

Grayson teaching the kids a new game called Carrom. Very similar to pool.

Day 198... Macaroni Photo Ornament

My friend Aimee over at www.fromchapelhilltochickenville.blogspot.com blogged earlier this month about a childhood macaroni photo ornament from the 70's that she had made and her mom had saved. I knew we had to try it for our tree this year. They turned out really cute although I wish I had splurged and bought silver paint instead of using the black I already had. The black is just too dark with the photos. The other thing I wish I had done was print up photos at Walgreens instead of using my printer to print them out on card stock. Lessons learned for next year!!

This was the most fun!! They all love using spray paint!!

We were on a time crunch so we used a hot glue gun to glue the macaroni. We then spray painted them and blew them dry with a hairdryer. We completed the project in about 90 minutes from start to finish.

The girls added some glitz to their ornaments. Beads, buttons, ribbons and stars.

The boys kept theirs plain. Love how the red turned out just wish I had used a better quality photo other than card stock. Thanks Aimee for such a fun project. These will be wrapped and saved. Maybe the next generation will be making them for their trees. Love family traditions.

Day 197... New P.J'S for Christmas and a Holiday Movie Marathon Gift!!

Tonight for fun we opened the last Of Aunt Lisa gifts. She follows the blog, and knows that I am a big fan of experiences. She sent a gift card and presents for a Holiday Movie Marathon. The kids loved it.

I bought them new P.J.'S with the gift card. This is something my sister has always done since the kids were babies. Now that they are older it is much harder to shop for them so she leaves it to me. I tried sis hope you are pleased. Not quite the footie P.J.'S monogrammed from years ago. LOL!!

If the GRINCH jammies I saw would have been comfortable I would have splurged for me. SADLY they were not comfy! Must have been the GRINCH!!

We watched the first movie of the 6 or 7 you sent. We also popped popcorn, ate some of the candy and relaxed as a family for the first time maybe all day. Thanks for this wonderful gift. The kids loved it. The movie was called Christmas in Wonderland. It was from 2007 with Patrick Swayze. A few choice words here and there but would approve for 7 and up. Kenna managed to stay for the whole thing. Woo Hoo!! FUN!! Merry Christmas 2011!!

The Greeneteam with their new P.J'S from Aunt Lisa. Thanks!!

Kenna showing her amazing gratitude for SKITTLES!! Seriously?? It is not like I deprive them of sugar!!

Ready for a great night!!

Aunt Lisa knows how much I love SUGAR.. LOL..THANKS!!

Looking cool as I watch the movie. Any more M&M'S???

This is one of the reasons that I love Christmas movies. Do you see the look of BELIEF and Wonderment on his face?? A miracle has happened and he just wants to believe that it is true!

This is truly the meaning of Christmas.!! JOHN 3:16 , The true Miracle that we all just need to believe in. Merry CHRISTMAS!!

Day 196.. Puzzle Balls

Aunt Sarah is our blog sponsor today. She sent the Greeneteam Ravensburger Puzzle Balls for Christmas. They were a little tricky to get started and a little tricky at the end. That being said so much fun. The kids LOVE them. The four that she sent had Christmas scenes and are just beautiful. They can be used as a decorative globe or an ornament. Ours ended up 2 and 2. They are hanging on our tree and sitting in our Christmas Village. The kids love the pamphlet that came in the box and are already planning their next Puzzle Ball. A great gift and a lot of fun. Thank you Aunt Sarah!!

Day 195... Snowflake Party

Aunt Lisa is our fun blog sponsor today. She sent us a box with filled with gifts. The first set was all wrapped in snowman/snowflake paper. We opened those today. It was everything we needed to have a snowflake party.

Cupcake Funfetti mix!!

Tablecloth.

And so much more.. Snowman Marmallows, icing, plates, cups, sprinkles,Snowman centerpiece, cupcake wrappers, and napkins. So cute!! Thank you sister!! She wrapped them all individually which the kids loved.

The girls set the table. LOVE IT!!

The boys baked the cupcakes!!

We made snowflakes for the tree out of Popsicle sticks and glitter glue!!

We watched Frosty the Snowman!!

Decorated the cupcakes!!

Cut out lots of snowflakes!!

We hung the snowflakes in the entrance to the playroom.

A Sunday Snowflake Party!! So fun!! Love this gift Aunt Lisa thank you!!

Day 194.. Enota Mountain Retreat

A month or two back I watched an episode of Georgia Traveler the best of Season 3. They featured a resort getaway called Enota Mountain Retreat. It looked like a wonderful camping place nestled in the North Georgia Mountains. I added myself to their email list as they are only 20 minutes from my Mom's house in Hiawassee. Two weeks or so ago I got an email that they were going to host a Christmas open house for the community.

We spent the day there today. Let's just say we had a wonderful, relaxing time. A beautifully decorated lodge, hot cocoa, pancake breakfast, crafts, face painting, cookie decorating, chili lunch, hayride, exploring, fireside Christmas singing, and presents. All for FREE..Yes FREE..They invited the community in to experience a day at ENOTA. Talk about Christmas Spirit!!

All you need to do is look at the pictures to see that my kids had a blast. The staff could not have been friendlier and the atmosphere was wonderful. Would love to head camping in May at this fantastic getaway.

This was Enota's first year opening the door for the community for Christmas and I have to say BRAVO.. Truly a wonderful time!! We will be back!!